Now... I have tried some space-sims/games out there. Some are cool, some are dull. But none of them offered the option to expand, change, modify, or alter the game and its inner workings like Oolite - not that I know of anyways. For that alone, this has got to be the most awesome space sim I have come across.

The list of OXP's is quite extensive I have to say... The in-game expansion manager tells me there are some 500 of them readily available for consumption. That's some number. Apart from some obvious must-haves, such as Griff's retexture pack, background sets, realistic stars, etc., I reckon there are some "core OXP's" the more experienced/skilled Commanders among you are using.

I'm curious about the OXP's being used... I have installed about 80 of them now - but only because some have dependencies. Most notable are Xenon UI, Ship Configuration (yes, I kinda like the realism and trade-offs it brings with it), Planetfall and its add-on's, New Cargoes, Superhub, Variable Mass-Lock, and others.

I'm also curious if you use multiple Oolite installations with different sets of OXPs to vary the experience.

As you can see I'm pretty enthusiastic about this little gem of a game I found here!

Not too many here, and nearly all cosmetic or ambience upgrades. Most of the are my own as I prefer a Classic Ooniverse to the default look game - just my preference and you do get a lot of lovely ships if you have the whole package.

'smivs'_ships_and_tweaks' oxp contains unique versions of the Cobra III and Boa Clipper which are my two regular rides (two Commanders), and the modded BGS is just for the tunnel and hyperspace effects, as I love those but don't like the sounds and backgrounds.

_________________Commander Smivs, the friendliest Gourd this side of Riedquat.

I think these aren't on the manager because they are a tad on the large size. Total size on my rig is 4.3gb. Just one galaxy is over 500mb. They're currently stored on Google Drive which occasionally blocks downloads due to bandwidth limitations. And because there is no direct download link (it's a multi-step process with Google Drive), it's impossible to put them on the manager.

I suppose if someone had 5gb of spare space on a server somewhere, and unlimited bandwidth, they could be relocated.

Whoa... thanks for the input guys I see some of you like it to be rather huge, complex and immersive - which is just right down my alley. I did install the Povray planets, although it was quite the lengthy process to get them and install them. However, the fruits of my lengthy road of downloading all 8 galaxies have been collected... and oh my gosh it's beautiful Now I'll wait for the next release in which, hopefully, the atmospheres have shader effects. Povray plus those shaders must be something to behold.

In total, I have about 120 OXPs installed, which should be a good-enough start. Total installation size is around 5 Gigs - I can live with that just fine.

Now I'll wait for the next release in which, hopefully, the atmospheres have shader effects. Povray plus those shaders must be something to behold.

You don't really have to wait for the next release. Just grab the latest Linux nightly (http://terrastorage.no-ip.info/oolite/status.html), and install Povray Planets there. You can already see what it looks like if you skim through the last few pages of the Screenshots thread. Many of the screenies there by Cody and myself show Povray + new atmospheres.

Now I'll wait for the next release in which, hopefully, the atmospheres have shader effects. Povray plus those shaders must be something to behold.

You don't really have to wait for the next release. Just grab the latest Linux nightly (http://terrastorage.no-ip.info/oolite/status.html), and install Povray Planets there. You can already see what it looks like if you skim through the last few pages of the Screenshots thread. Many of the screenies there by Cody and myself show Povray + new atmospheres.

I can understand the reluctance to download something that is not entirely official yet, but I would like to mention that right now, the nightly build is more stable and less buggy than v1.84. This is of course not guaranteed to be still the case tomorrow, but the current revision 15eb90f has the following fixes in (taken from the most recent changelog):

Quote:

* Fixed Advanced Space Compass not breaking when damaged
* Fixed fee column alignment in passenger and parcel contract screens
* Fixed weird behaviour when a startup scenario planet name could not be found
in planetinfo.plist
* Fixed custom population description duplication in system data screen
* Fixed exception when accessing shipyard in interstellar space
* Fixed equivalentTechLevel sometimes returning NSNotFound
* Fixed MFDs resetting to number 1 when a HUD change occurred
* Fixed exception when accessing the market screen while docked in
interstellar space
* Fixed event order - now playerEnteredNewGalaxy is executed correctly before
shipWillExitWitchspace
* Fixed broken concealment behaviour
* Fixed native exception when a commander dictionary was requested while not
docked
* Linux builds: Fixed freezes when using GNUstep 1.24.9 or later
* Fixed adjacent systems distances not being equal on F6 and F7 screens
* Fixed planet strings searching not targeting found planets and inability to
use Alt + arrows during planet string search

... and we have not received any reports for reproducible issues for a good while now,

I tend towards not modding the basic look (other than HUD), or adding too many ships (right now just Clippers and Contractor MkII, love to fly that ship as a pro bounty hunter/parcel courier, and Behemoth), but the absolutely first things I always without install on a new game install are RandomHits and Galactic Navy. I just can't play without these, they add so much variety to the game. Galactic Navy is still not in the OXP manager and that's a darn shame because it's amazing. Love the reserve duty and massive Thargoid battles in interstellar space! Escort Contracts and UPS are other ones I always install: I prefer the open-ended style missions to the one-offs. I did really like Localhero but it hasn't worked in a long time. Ambiance-wise of course RandomShipNames is a must-have.

I tend to add mostly equipment (can't live without extra fuel tank and IronHide) and missions. Some mechanics (I always add New Cargoes and never actually spend any time on them!). I almost always add fuel stations and YourAdHere for the convenience stores but current game I'm doing without them and like it: having fewer escape options makes planning more important and encountering tough assassins much more exciting.

I like the variety that Towbar adds but it changes the economic balance and makes earning money much easier.

About POV, it came to me that Additional planets and its packs have a lot of textures, and that this OXP uses textures from various other OXPs that re-texture the main planet (system_redux etc.). A little hack to the base package allows it to texture the main planet again.

The texture on the F7 screen for other systems that the current one is wrong, though. Don't expect the texture to match the description either. More annoying, some textures look good from afar but awful when near the station.

However, if you use Additional Planets you can progressively enhance the diversity of the main planet, secondary planets and moons as you install more packages. Plus, the total weight is probably less than a POV texture set for a single sector.